


End Up in my Arms

by VioletTeaTime



Series: Chai Dads Universe [2]
Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Dad! Ted, Deaf Ethan Green, Look I'm not going to tag autistic Paul, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Weddings, but just know he is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23362036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletTeaTime/pseuds/VioletTeaTime
Summary: From proposal to the wedding, how the Matthews-Richards family came to be-Requested by coldairballoons on tumblr!
Relationships: Cineplex Teen/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews/Ted
Series: Chai Dads Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680937
Comments: 11
Kudos: 57





	1. Moving In

**Author's Note:**

> fuck yeah i love this ship so much and ive had so much coffee imma write
> 
> also this is a lowkey sequel to my last chai coffee fic but!!! you dont have to read it really to understand??? just know that Ted has a kid,,,, Charlie,,, cineplex teen,,, alright

Though it's a pretty big step in any relationship, Paul had barely noticed when he had moved in with Ted. It had become normal for them to go to Ted's after a date or after work, even just to watch a movie rather than go to Paul's apartment, given that it was in the bad part of town. Eventually, Ted had cleared some space in his closet and cabinet for Paul's clothes, they started grocery shopping together, and Paul just ended up migrating into the house, becoming a foundation of it. Ted had officially asked him to move in ten months into their relationship, when they had been watching movies with Charlie and Ethan.

The teenagers had fallen asleep after the third Harry Potter movie, curled up together on the plush chair that was far too small for two nearly grown men, but they hadn't complained. Sometime during the fourth movie, Ted and Paul had shifted to be laying down, bodies intertwined, interlocked like they were made for each other.

"Viktor Krum can get it."

"Ted, he's a teenager."

"Paul, look me in the fucking eye and tell me you believe that's a teenager." 

"That's fair." Paul smiled as Ted nuzzled into him, pulling him tighter. He never wanted to intrude on Ted's family time, but the other man was always inviting him over, and he couldn't say no to a face like that. Ted smelled like cigarettes, and as much as Paul wanted to make him go brush his teeth or change his shirt, he refused to break the comfort of the situation. 

"Hey." Ted's voice had a soft gruffness to it.

"Hey." 

"You should stay here."

"I should, it's late."

"Fuck, no, Paul, I mean... _stay_ here. Live here instead of hopping between that broom closet you call an apartment and here." 

" _Really_?" Paul sat up, and Ted pulled away from him, sitting on the other end of the couch.

"Yes, really. What, did you not think I was gonna ask you eventually? If you didn't think this was gonna happen, what did you think we were doing here?" He stood up, and Paul was sure he would have been a lot louder had his seventeen year old not be sleeping five feet away. 

"I, uh... you two are a family. And I get that, and I love you, both of you. But I, um..." Paul rubbed at his face, "I don't want to mess this up. If I move in, I become a permanent fixture in that kid's life. And I'm okay with that. But I want you to be sure that you're okay with that. And that he's okay with that. Okay?" Ted nodded towards the door.

"Talk outside? I need a dart." Paul sighed but followed, closing the door quietly behind him. Ted leaned over the porch barrier, elbows up, already billowing smoke like a chimney. Paul stopped a few feet away from him, and admired his face in the light. They needed to replace the overhead light, so he could just catch the shadows of Ted's face from the streetlights, and the floodlights of the next door neighbors. His soft jawline worked as he gnawed on the end of his dart. 

"Ted, look, I-" Ted put his hand up, turning towards Paul. He could just melt into those chocolate eyes.

"No, Paul, I need you to listen. You're really fucking important to me. I don't-I guess- _listen_ I just..." he sighed deeply before taking another drag, "you shouldn't feel like the odd man out, or the intruder, or whatever shitty thing you're thinking right now. Charlie fucking loves you, y'know that? When you took him to his Dungeons and Dragons thing because I had to go with Mr. Davidson to Kentucky, he didn't shut the fuck up about it for a week. How cool you were, how you let him play his music and you made shitty little jokes." He flicked his cigarette, gesturing with his hands. "And when it was Ethan's birthday so you drove three hours to get a cook book from your mom's house so me and Charlie could make that cake for him? You're already a part of this family." He leaned with his back on the barrier so he could face Paul fully.

"And I want you to be." Paul smiled and walked up to him. He leaned their foreheads together.

"Okay." They stayed like that a long while, breathing each other in, enveloped in a cloud of smoke. They shared their warmth, the bitter September wind cutting through their thin pyjamas. They broke apart when the door slowly opened, Ethan emerging. He held a vape in one hand, and jumped when he noticed the two of them outside. Paul's sign had been improving but he still wasn't an expert, and the darkness made it difficult for him to discern.

_Why you awake? It is cold, Paul does not have socks on._ Ethan signed while palming the device, and Paul realized for the first time how frigid the concrete beneath his feet was. Ted sighed, walking up to Ethan. He held his hand out, raising an eyebrow, and Ethan gave him a high five. Paul heard Ted mutter 'Jesus Christ' under his breath. 

_The v-a-p-e. You are off smoking._

_It is not smoking. It tastes like oranges._ Paul stepped forward and slid the device out of the teen's hand with ease. He passed it to Ted, who pocketed it. He held up his hands, and began to slowly sign.

_Kitchen has oranges. Go to_ _bed_. Ted nodded, and Ethan huffed before heading back inside the house. Paul trailed behind Ted, closing the door behind the three of them. Ethan curled back into Charlie on the chair, who was muttering in his sleep as Ethan shifted. Ted stopped to look at them for a moment, a proud look on his face. Paul gently tugged the back of his shirt.

"C'mon, Teddy Bear."

Falling asleep holding Ted felt different that night. The bed seemed to hug them as Paul slowly drifted, listening to his partner's breathing. For the first time since he was nineteen years old, Paul fell asleep truly feeling like he was falling asleep at home. 


	2. Engagement

The only difference between moving in and not was just how much shit they had. Really, Paul had never been one to collect things. His kitchen had been sparce, only with the necessities. He didn't have a lot of clothes, mostly just work outfits, pyjamas, and sweaters, he didn't have knick-knacks or decorations he couldn't part with. But suddenly, they had two of everything. When Paul told Emma about the move in, she had offered to borrow her brother-in-law's truck to bring things over, which he had happily agreed to. Together, Emma, Paul, Ted, and Charlie were able to get everything in Paul's apartment out in two trips. Later, Ted, Charlie, Paul, and Ethan would take about three quarters of it to the Goodwill. 

Paul didn't want to change anything about the house, about the family inside. Ted forced him to put his geeky high school graduation picture on the wall, but that was the extent of real changes that Paul made. Anything else was just a byproduct of him being there. The kitchen started to become more full, more lively as well, as Ethan and Charlie had gotten into baking after watching a reality TV show, and Paul became their judge. They all began cooking more, getting takeout less in an effort to have them all eat together. Two months after he moved in, Paul gave Ethan a key to the house, as they had a heart to heart about Ethan's living situation. 

The biggest difference, everyone could notice, was Ted. Ted was less bitchy in the mornings at work, he smiled more and his sarcasm was used for humour, rather than to attack people. He laughed more, genuinely, and was more keen to trying new things. Melissa convinced the both of them to join the baseball team after years of pestering, and where Ted would have been cynical about it in the past, he tried to enjoy it, despite being dogshit at sports. Paul seemed to be happier as well, more talkative at work and going out more. Even after considering all of this, Bill was still surprised when Ted had approached him.

"I'm sorry, _what now_?" 

"I wanna know, y'know, how I should... propose?" Bill blinked at him, half expecting Ted to laugh it off and walk away, but he looked desperate. It was probably the only time they had ever eaten lunch together, Charlotte was sick and Paul was out for lunch with a client, and neither of them wanted to be 'that guy' and eat with the boss. 

"You've barely been dating a year!"

"Bill it's been a fucking amazing year, and I'm really serious about this! I'm just not good at all that sappy romantic shit." He scrunched his nose up, stabbing his fork deeper in the leftover pasta he had brought for lunch. "I've been thinking about it since he moved in. I wanna be able to call him my husband, y'know? To have and to hold and all that." He looked tense, and Bill was tempted to place a hand on his shoulder. 

"Well, when I proposed to my ex wife, I brought her to the first restaurant we had a date at, in the same booth, and had the waiter bring over champagne with the ring inside."

"Jesus Christ, Bill, which Hallmark movie is that from?" Ted scoffed, leaning back in his chair.

"Hey! It was romantic!"

"Sure it was, buddy." Bill watched as Ted walked away, shaking his head slightly as he returned back to his desk.

-

Charlie had offered to help. Paul had bought the ring ages ago, when Ted had decided to quit smoking for him. He had hid it very strategically, in a place where he knew Ted would never find it. In the bookcase. Unfortunately for him, Ted's kid was a total geek that actually read. Ted had been out of town again, joining Mr. Davidson on yet another business venture, this one in Atlanta, one of Ted's least favourite places, and Paul decided to have a night in with Charlie.

They had been getting close, though they rarely spent time together without one of their boyfriends being present. Ted wasn't all that social of a person, disliking the general population, and Ethan's home life was poor, so he spent more time at their house than his own. Paul made himself useful, making popcorn and Shirley Temples for the two of them while Charlie chose a movie on Netflix. He had rounded the corner into the living room with a drink in each hand, the bowl of popcorn between his elbows when he realized Charlie was staring at him, eyes like saucers. In his left hand, he held a familiar copy of Pride and Prejudice. In his right hand, he held a blue velvet box.

Paul placed the bowl on the table, and that jolted Charlie enough for him to attempt to hide the box behind his back, obviously unsure of who the ring belonged to. Paul shifted the coasters closer to him before setting the glasses down.

"Um, that's mine. For your dad, I mean." He gestured across the room to him, and Charlie held the box in front of him again. 

"Wow, um, okay? So, like, you wanna like... _wow_ marry my dad?" Paul nodded, sitting on the arm of the plush chair.

"That's the plan, hopefully. I don't want to, um, assume anything or..."

"That's really cool!" Charlie slid the ring back into the bookshelf, replacing the book he had pulled out, "I'm really happy for you guys."

"I haven't even asked him yet." 

"Yeah, but he's going to say yes. Two dads, that'll be cool." Paul blinked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"So you're, um, okay with all this?" Charlie crossed the room to grab a handful of popcorn. He shoved an ungodly amount in his mouth at once, and Paul winced as kernels fell onto the carpet. 

"Yeah." He nodded, flopping onto the couch. He wiped his hands on the shirt he wore, a black Clash shirt Paul was sure Charlie had stolen from Ethan, despite the punk never having heard their music.

"Okay, cool." And for a while, that was enough. They sat together, watching The Theory of Everything, sipping their drinks. Every few minutes, Charlie would check his phone, often chuckling at whoever had texted him, or Paul would make another run to the kitchen for snacks. Once the movie was running the credits, the teenager muted the TV and turned to Paul.

"Okay, game plan."

"Game plan?" Charlie nodded, adjusting his glasses, which had slipped from his odd sitting position during the movie.

"Yeah, so like, how are you gonna ask him?" Paul shrugged.

"I guess I'll just take him back to that diner we had our first date at and have the waiter bring the ring in his drink." 

Charlie snorted, "that's like, in every straight people movie I've ever seen. You should do something actually romantic." 

"Like what?"

-

Ted's hands were shaking, and all he wanted to do was have a good smoke. He popped another piece of gum out of the packet, spitting the stale one into a Kleenex before dropping it on the tray. Across from him, Ethan stirred his milk shake. 

_That is a terrible_ _idea, Ted._ The teen wore a smug grin on his face, and Ted bit his tongue back from insulting him.

 _Well it is the best one I have._ He sighed, watching Ethan slide more into the booth so Charlie could join him. Charlie smiled as Ethan dropped an arm across his back, the two boys flush together. Ted cringed. Charlie took a bite out of his burger, watching as half of the toppings fell onto the wrapper, then set it aside to sign.

 _He will know something is up if you take him there, Dad. Why not go to the park or something?_ Ted could tell Charlie had thought this out, and he nodded.

 _That's not bad, but then what? Just sit on a bench and_ _talk?_

_Yeah._

_You two are useless._ Ethan chuckled as Ted stood up, taking his tray with him. The food court was noisy despite Hatchetfield not being a massive city. The three of them had decided to go shopping together, with Christmas just being around the corner, which really meant Charlie and Ethan would shop together, and Ted would go on alone. He waved at the two boys, who were already too deep in conversation to notice, and went on with his day.

The thought of proposing had been consuming him lately. The ring was on him constantly, tucked into a pocket on the inside of his favourite jacket, a reminder that he had a job to do and someone to look forward for. He browsed slowly, ending up in a Hot Topic for a small gift for Ethan, as well as some geeky shit for his kid. He spent more time than he would admit in Bath and Body Works, getting candles for the house, as well as Charlotte's gift for the workplace Secret Santa. Paul and him had promised not to get each other anything instead taking a four day trip to Florida, but he still picked up a few chocolate strawberries from the chocolate shop, just to enjoy with him that night.

Eventually, he ended up walking into a store he had seen, but never paid attention to. It was pristine and white, with bridal dresses lining the walls on one side, and on the other, arrangements of decorations and themes for weddings. He made his way over to that side, tucking his bags close to him to make sure he didn't break some shit he didn't want to pay for.

Ted always wanted a simple wedding, just close friends and family. Maybe muted tones, like beige and light blue. He walked the isles, admiring the signs and bows, the fake floral arrangements and the images of what they all could look like if they came together. God, he hoped Paul said yes. Out of the corner of his eye, Ted caught a flash of red, and turned to the source of it.

"Becky?" She perked up, her ponytail swishing as she faced him.

"Ted! Hi! How are you?" She went in for the hug, as he had always known her to, and he awkwardly hugged back. It always felt strange to hug someone that much shorter than him.

"I'm good, good, yeah." He nodded, his eyes wiping over her, "holy shit, Beck, is that a ring?" She held her hand up, and he stared at the glimmering stone in the light.

"Yeah! Tom popped the question last week!"

"Congrats, Beck, that's great." She giggled, flashing her teeth at him. They had always been close growing up, she was probably the only reason he passed any of his science classes in high school, and he was the reason she had any fun. When Ted had Charlie, they grew apart, and only really became friends again recently, when Becky's ex left her.

"What about you? What are you doing in here, Mr.-I'll-Never-Get-Married?" It was true, for a long time, Ted had thought he would always be single, or at least, never actually marry anyone. After he was left alone with Charlie, he did more than his share of sleeping around, but never wanted to hold onto personal relationships in the fear of hurting his son. 

"I'm, uh, I'm actually planning on asking Paul to marry me." She squealed.

"That's amazing! Oh my God, when? How?" She fanned herself, and he chuckled at her antics.

"I think I'm going to take him down to that festival in the park, where there are all those lights, and just talk to him until it feels right."

"Aw, you're just the cutest! Let's shop together, and we can talk more about it!

-

Charlie was sick, sicker than a dog. Ted had warned him that Charlie often fell sick in the winter months due to his weak immune system, but he hadn't expected this at all. The teenager was barely able to walk, and only seemed to do so to get from his room to the washroom across the hall. He was weak, fever-ridden, and seemed out of it, almost like he was drunk. Ethan wasn't able to come to help like Paul had been told he usually did, as he was doing a bar-hop of concerts with his band across New York for the holidays, the group starting to gain some traction. Paul still had no fucking clue how Ethan played the bass without being able to hear it. 

Ted was in the kitchen, humming along to a Christmas playlist as he made soup, his hips swaying. Paul watched from the living room, holding the last of Charlie's used bowls and a cloth that was once damp. 

"You're good at that." Ted looked up from the pot.

"What?" 

"The whole-" Paul tried to emulate the little dance Ted was doing-"thing." Ted laughed, turning the pot onto a lower setting. 

"Thanks, I really try. I take night classes to learn how to seduce you."

"Then, uh, you deserve an A." Paul put the dishes in the dishwasher, and Ted bumped him with his hip.

"Care to join me?"

"No, I, uh, I don't dance."

"That's what Chad said in High School Musical Two before doing an entire dance sequence."

"You know I hated those movies." 

Paul ended up bringing Charlie the soup while Ted cleaned up the kitchen. The teenager had nodded off, so he left the soup on the side table, covering it with the plate he had brought it up on. Paul reached over and slid the glasses off of Charlie's face, and smiled down at him.

Ted was waiting for him in the living room, two glasses of wine on the table. He had kicked back on the couch, his jacket leaning precariously over the arm. He rolled his head to the side to watch Paul come down the stairs, and slowly turned the sound down on the television, the last night's Saturday Night Live playing the monologue. 

"How was he?"

"Resting." Ted grunted, and Paul pulled his legs up on the couch so he could sit under them. He gently rubbed at Ted's calves, turning his attention onto the TV.

"Hey, Paul?" 

"Hey Ted."

"I love you, like a lot." Paul looked back at Ted, admiring his askew hair and rumpled shirt.

"I love you a lot too." 

"No, no, like I love you _so_ much. Like, woah much." Paul chuckled and leaned forward to catch his lips in a kiss, but narrowly missed, getting a mouthful of Ted's mustache instead. He pulled back and they laughed, Paul settling his head on Ted's shoulder.

"Paul?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you marry me?" Paul raised his head up, eyes wide as he noticed the small band of metal Ted was holding.

"No, fuck, I-"

"Oh, um, okay." Ted slid it in his chest pocket, looking away.

"NO! Okay, I mean yes! I mean, okay, Ted, I-" Paul jumped away from him, pounding over to the bookcase. He couldn't remember what book he put the box behind, so he just began reefing them out of the case, falling onto the floor with heavy bangs. His heart swelled when he felt the velvet of the box, and he ran back over to Ted. He dropped onto the floor before his boyfriend, and opened the box. Ted laughed, eyes brimming with tears.

"Oh, you're such an asshole, I thought you said no."

"I just wanted to do it first."

"I asked first, jackass, you just got on one knee." Ted laughed again and leaned forward to give Paul a proper kiss. It was short and sweet, and Paul moved one hand to the back of Ted's neck, reveling in the soft hair there.

"So, um... okay, um... yes, I'll marry you?" Paul laughed as Ted slid on the engagement ring that had sat in his pocket, the metal warm on Paul's hand.   
"And I'll marry you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the winter light festival in the park is actually based on something close to me! every year a nearby town sets up thousands of lights on display and people come from all over to take pictures of it or with it, and its a really common place to be asked to go out with someone or get engaged!

**Author's Note:**

> idk what countries my readers are from but do yall call cigarettes darts? ive used that slang in a couple fics and idk if other areas use that or if thats exclusive to canadians??


End file.
